Romney promises to create 12 million new jobs (audio)

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney spoke to a crowd of about 700 in Des Moines early this morning, suggesting there’s “the potential for economic calamity” in the country if President Obama wins a second term.

Romney promised that his own proposals would lead to economic growth.

“We’re going to have 12 million new jobs in America during my term,” Romney said, pausing to say, “Yeah,” as the crowd interrupted him with applause. “And Americans are going to see more take-home pay and, let me tell you, I know it’s going to happen.”

Romney this morning repeated his promises on jobs and wage growth again and again, drawing a standing ovation from the crowd near the end of his 25-minute speech.

“I want more jobs and more take-home pay for the American people and I’m going to get it done,” Romney said.

Romney began by mentioning the drought and the need to look for ways to help farmers and others who’ll be hit financially by it.

“This is a difficult time for a lot of Americans,” Romney said. “The American people are tired of being tired.”

Iowa is one of a handful of states which are considered too close to call for either Romney or Obama. Both campaigns and several outside groups are blanketing the airwaves in Iowa with ads, trying to influence voters. Romney used this morning’s speech in Des Moines to reinforce an attack on Obama over the 1996 welfare reform law.

“Back at that time, then-Senator Obama was opposed to putting work together with welfare. Now, he’s president and just a few days ago he put that original intent in place,” Romney told the crowd in Des Moines “With a very careful executive action he removed the requirement of work with welfare. It is wrong that would make America more of a nation of government dependency.”

The Obama campaign has said in mid-July officials in the Department of Health and Human Services offered states more flexibility to run welfare programs, but only if a state promises to move 20 percent more people from welfare into a job. President Bill Clinton, who is featured in Romney’s ad, has called Romney’s claims “misleading” and “not true.”

Meanwhile, Democrats and a few Republicans — like Iowa’s governor — have been hammering Romney for opposing an extension of the wind production tax credit. During his remarks today, Romney did not defend his stand against the tax break for wind energy producers, but instead offered a general statement about energy policy.

“We have got to take advantage of America’s extraordinary energy resources: coal, oil, gas, nuclear, renewables — wind, solar, ethanol, you name it,” Romney said. “We’ve got to take advantage of all of them.”

While Romney received applause from the crowd for that declaration, Romney received a rousing standing ovation when he promised to get rid of “ObamaCare.”